Asian Wildlife

Saola Welfare and Extinction Risk from Snare Hunting

The saola is one of the world rarest large mammals, found only in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos. Fewer than a hundred individuals may remain, and snare hunting has likely already driven the species to the brink of extinction.

Key Facts

Saolas are large bovids discovered by science only in 1992
An estimated population of under 100 individuals is the most optimistic recent estimate
No saola has been photographed in the wild by camera trap since 2013
Thousands of wire snares are removed annually from Annamite Mountain forests
Saola Working Group coordinates international conservation efforts for this critically endangered species

Welfare Considerations

Each individual saola caught in a snare represents a catastrophic welfare and conservation event for a species where every individual is irreplaceable. The prolonged suffering of an animal caught in a wire snare is severe, and the death of breeding adults removes individuals from a population that may have no demographic buffer. The saola represents perhaps the most extreme case where individual welfare and species survival are indistinguishable.

What You Can Do

Support Saola Working Group snare removal campaigns
Donate to WWF Greater Mekong program protecting Annamite habitat
Advocate for Vietnamese and Laotian government commitment to Annamite conservation
Raise awareness of the saola as the world most urgently endangered large mammal
Support captive breeding research despite the challenges of an animal never successfully kept in captivity